Kitch-en: Gallery | Studio | Shop,
Opening Monday 17th July, Middlesbrough 25th June 2006

As part of our search for creative studio space we stumbled upon a beautiful, quirky little building in Middlesbrough, just behind the new modern art gallery (Mima) that is soon to open. We fell in love and have transformed the space into a Gallery/Studio/Shop opening on Monday 17th July. Please come along and take a look. (More details below).

GALLERY:
A 'white cube' space that will be used to exhibit local and regional artists. Throughout July and August, whilst we await a decision from The Arts Council with regards to funding, we will be exhibiting our own work - a collection of abstract & urban paintings, drawings, photographs, and installation pieces.
We will be putting out a call to artists to submit proposals for exhibiting in the gallery in due course. Watch this space.

STUDIO:
The creative space for kitch-en to work from. A place for us to get messy and produce our unique artworks, T-shirts, badges, prints, artist books etc. We will also be operating our design studio from this space, offering graphic design solutions for screen and print, art direction and marketing concepts.

SHOP:
The only place in town stocking a unique range of specialist art & design magazines and books along with limited edition artist books, prints, postcards, greeting cards, badges, stickers, T-shirts etc. We will also be selling artist materials such as canvas, paints, paper, card.

For further information go to www.kitch-en.co.uk/shop

Artist studio space - Call to Artists 1st May 2006

Kitch-en studios are on the horizon...
We have been busy seeking creative studio spaces, doing lots of property searching and trying to figure out some costs etc. So this is really a call to any artists/designers/creatives out there who are looking for studio space to get in contact. We already have a few artists and graphic designers who are on board with us looking for suitable space but we are still looking for more. If there is such a demand we may be looking at a larger venture than originally planned.

If you are interested please contact us with rough details of what you may be looking for and at what price. i.e. 100 sq.ft, wet space for painting in, £60/mnth excl rates etc. We understand that you may not be sure about the exact space you will need but just some sort of idea will help.
We will contact everyone back with updates on things as they progress.

Continuing work with Ek Zuban 27th April 2006

Local press Ek Zuban have recently secured a substantial grant from The Arts Council allowing them to continue with their planned publications for the year. Kitch-en will continue working closely with Ek Zuban press on all of their future publications, including Kenaz magazine which is now upto it's 4th issue and is gaining much respect and recognition both in the local area and internationally. It is now stocked in Kiasma - Helsinki's Museum of Modern Art, and continues to be distributed right across the Tees Valley. All four issues can be downloaded from www.arteest.co.uk/kenaz whilst Ek Zuban redevelop their website.

Featured work in The Crack magazine 1st April 2006

Having won a competition some time ago (July I think) Mark's work can finally be found in April's issue of The Crack - (for those who don't know it's one of the biggest free magazines in the UK, and features music, the arts and general cultural goings on in the North East). The artwork is part of the Artvert project that The Crack is running for a second year, the idea being: to replace what would normally be advertising space with art. Unfortunately they got Mark's email address wrong in the magazine which hopefully they will rectify in the next issue. You can view all of the Artvert submissions at www.artvert.net

Quarter Success 31st March 2006

You may or may not of heard of The Quarter, so here's the background info. It's a new magazine and webzine for Middlesbrough promoting music, arts and culture in the town. It is a voice for local talent and venue's to shout about their events and entertainment and a reference guide for all to see what's going on - whether it be an evening tea dance or an all night drum and bass rave.
The first issue of the magazine, the launch of the website and a networking event to bring local talent and promoters together, was funded by Middlesbrough Council. 10,000 copies of the 16-page mag were distributed around Middlesbrough, including all the offices, shops, bars, pubs and cafes. It has been received very well amongst the public and local businesses alike leaving us in good stead to continue with the magazine.
We are now seeking other forms of funding to sustain the magazine in printed form along side the webzine which we continue to update regularly with new events and entertainment as well as music news, reviews and interviews.
www.middlesbroughquarter.co.uk

Exhibition in Sassari, Middlesbrough 24th March 2006

With the closure of Dundas we had a collection of work that needed a new home, so we have now moved it into Sassari's continental cafe/restaurant on Linthorpe Road, Middlesbrough. You can see a mixture of urban and abstract artworks by Mark Warner and Ged Holmes both in the restaurant itself and upstairs in the private function room. All artworks are for sale and will remain there for the foreseeable future, so go and check it out if you can.

Closure of Dundas Gallery 22nd March 2006

Yes it's true... the 'kitch-en opens...' gallery in Dundas Shopping Mall has closed.
The venture was always going to be a temporary one due to the license under which we were allowed the unit but due to other commitments with our business development we simply didn't have the time to keep it open. As rewarding as it was for us to have our own space and creative freedom it was also very time consuming with little financial gain. We have received lots of positive feedback from the project though and all of this helps for our future plans.

Thank you to all those that came down to see us, your support is very much appreciated, and apologies to all those that tried to come down to see us when we were closed.

Exhibition in London 20th March 2006

We were recently invited to exhibit work as part of the Art in Mind series of exhibitions in London's thriving East End, organized by Artshole.co.uk. The exhibition took place on March 13th - 19th at the ADi projects space just round the corner from Hoxton Square.
There was a buzzing private view and our work was well received by all. Some positive connections were also made with regards to future art and design projects in London.

view more photos here